Superstorm Colindana
Superstorm Colindana was the nickname for an extratropical cyclone that formed as a result of the merger of Antihurricane Colin and Hurricane Dana in July 2022. The storm had a low-pressure side and a high-pressure side. Although the storm was not officially a "superstorm" by the NHC definition, because it wasn't tropical any longer, it got the nickname "Superstorm Colindana". The storm caused numerous weather records in Europe, including hottest temperature recorded, coldest temperature recorded, most rainfall, highest winds, and even most snowfall. Meteorological History Antihurricane Colin and Hurricane Dana both have their origins in tropical waves that moved off the coast of west Africa. Colin The first wave emerged off Africa as normal, but formed in an unusual pattern, similar to an anticyclone. However, it developed a convective center, and the outside ring had winds of over 45 MPH, so it was given the name "Tropical Storm Colin", initially assumed to be a tropical storm with a large eye. However, the eye grew even larger. At the time, the storm reportedly "dissipated" because it no longer had a strong tropical cyclone shape, but in post-season analysis it was reclassified as an antihurricane. On July 15, the storm rapidly intensified into a "Category -2 antihurricane", reaching central pressures of over 1060 millibars. The storm further intensified into a "Category -3 antihurricane on July 16, and retained this intensity for 24 hours. Dana The second wave emerged off Africa on July 14. It quickly moved northward and became Tropical Storm Dana early on July 16. On July 17, the storm attained Category 1 hurricane status with 80 MPH winds before the merger began late on July 17. Merger and Extratropical Transition On July 17, at 5PM EDT, it was reported that Antihurricane Colin and Hurricane Dana had partially merged. The antihurricane section still retained a high pressure and the hurricane section retained winds of 75 MPH as the merger occurred. The storm was declared extratropical at 11PM EDT on July 17 as the two storms were nearly completely merged together. However, the storm still had two distinctive sides: a high pressure side like an anticyclone, called the "Colin Side", and a low pressure side like a hurricane, the "Dana Side". However, the extratropical storm intensified, and on July 19, the storm was considered tropical again, but the NHC did not know what to describe it as. They named it "Hurricane Colin-Dana", but later the name was changed to "Colindana". The storm quickly lost its tropical characteristics again, but did not weaken, as its winds on the Dana side reached as high as 165 MPH, equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane, while the pressures on the Colin side reached as high as 1075 millibars, still equivalent to a Category -3 antihurricane. Temperatures varied widely across the storm: while the temperature on the Dana side sat at approximately 74 degrees F, the temperature on the Colin side reached as high as 100 degrees F during the day and as low as 50 degrees F at night. Landfall As the storm continued to move northeastward towards southern Europe, the storm began to consolidate as one storm and the two sides became less defined. By July 22, the storm had winds of just 80 MPH. The storm then took a turn to the north as it was just a "mashed up superstorm" by this point, while still retaining a very low pressure at the core, as the "Colin side" had mostly disappeared. This storm has been called the "Sandy of Europe" for this reason. Superstorm Colindana made landfall in southern England on July 23, causing as much as 5-6 inches of rain in spots. London reported 3.45 inches of rain on this day, as well as an inch of snow. The high temperature recorded in London was 88 degrees, while the low as 28 as the Colin side had slightly reformed. Winds of 80 MPH were observed in Plymouth, England. The storm dissipated on July 24 as it approached France. Colindana caused three fatalities, but overall storm damages were minimal. Retirement Since the two storms were merged into one, the NHC did not retire both names Colin and Dana. Instead, they retired the name "Colindana", making it ineligible to be used for another hurricane. For this reason, Colin and Dana were both used in 2028. Category:Antihurricanes Category:Super Storms Category:Extratropical Cyclones Category:Unusual storms Category:Weird Storms Category:Atlantic hurricanes